Sweden Hits Major Milestone in Fight Against HIV

Sweden has become the first country in the world to hit the 90-90-90 milestone, which was set by WHO in 2014 to combat HIV. The goal was for a country to have 90% of their HIV positive population diagnosed, 90% of those diagnosed undergoing treatment, and for 90% of those to have an undetectable viral load after six months of treatment.

By the end of 2015, 90% of Sweden’s HIV positive population had been diagnosed, an impressive 99.8% of them on treatment, and 95% had low viral loads after the target six months. This makes them the first to reach the milestone, which goes a long way in reducing infection and mortality rates.

When these high percentages of HIV populations are diagnosed and treated, infections fall at an astounding rate. One study conducting condomless sex between a HIV-positive and negative person had zero infections among the 40,000 recorded sexual incidents.

There are factors that do contribute to Sweden’s success; they have a lower HIV population than many other countries, free healthcare, and treatment immediately available. By comparison, approximately 25% of the UK’s HIV population is undiagnosed, and 14% of the USA’s.